Warning: Parameter 2 to bateaux_core_search_page_builder() expected to be a reference, value given in /home/makigumo/public_html/wp-includes/class-wp-hook.php on line 286Mid-week anime catch-up: is that a railgun in your pocket or are you just trying to brutally murder me? – Makigumo

Mid-week anime catch-up: is that a railgun in your pocket or are you just trying to brutally murder me?

I haven’t done an anime post in a while, but I wanted to write a little at the mid-season point of Railgun S. Also a little thing called Anime Expo happened, which I was not able to attend. Besides, this might be my last post for a bit until I get back from San Diego in two weeks. Saaavooorr it!

Elliot gives a nice rundown of the history of Little Witch Academia and some of the reasons for the success of the Kickstarter campaign. He only tangentially touches on what this could mean for the industry. Maybe it doesn’t mean anything for the industry. But I often hear about the terrible working conditions for animators, how they get paid peanuts for their work, and how piracy is hitting production studios hard. Maybe Kickstarter is the answer?

It seems like anime studios have difficulty producing a return on investments. The advantage of crowd funding is that it doesn’t necessarily expect one – it just expects a product to be made. I don’t see Kickstarter funding large studios or multi-million dollar projects, but perhaps it can nurture independent animators and make them a force in the industry. I guess we’ll see. It seems like the world is moving in a direction where media and many types of consumables are being produced by the masses. We are more in control of the means of production than ever before, so I’m sure Time of Eve and Little Witch Academia 2 are just the beginning.

As I was chilling in Wisconsin, Anime Expo was going on in Los Angeles. I really wanted to go, but ultimately I chose bros over hos. Still, I can at least get a piece of that experience by looking at the glorious cosplay that went on. I’m going to make an effort to attend next year, but it’s a tough decision being in such close proximity to SDCC.

Now watching: Shingeki no Kyojin episode 13.5

Yes, that says “13.5.” So it’s come down to this. Mankind hatched a plan to counterattack the titans, and Eren finally picked up the fucking rock. Bravo. This past weekend’s episode was a recap, without an appreciable gain in animation quality. I really, really wish this show could move on. It’s starting to become a really pretty Dragon Ball Z.

Now watching: A Certain Scientific Railgun S episode 13

So the gut punch of the Sisters arc continues, featuring the very cool shot of BiriBiri seen in the header to this post. What Railgun S is doing that Index didn’t is showing us the events that led to Mikoto’s final decision. It’s pure desperation, self-loathing, and guilt, and it’s very well expressed in Railgun S. On top of that, I’ve found myself liking Touma a lot more. I’m pretty sure I didn’t like him in Index, but I’ve enjoyed his Railgun appearances. There’s something reassuring about his presence. Sure, I dislike his constant whining about bad fortune when there are girls lining up to get in his pants. But the dude can fight really well, and Railgun needs some of that. Isn’t it amazing what proper story and character development can do, as opposed to Index‘s rapid-fire approach?